U.S. patent number 10,463,970 [Application Number 14/896,340] was granted by the patent office on 2019-11-05 for information processing system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to SONY CORPORATION, SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT INC.. The grantee listed for this patent is SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC., SONY CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Haijie Hewu, Nobukazu Koyama, Yuji Nakamura, Soushi Urakawa.
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United States Patent |
10,463,970 |
Hewu , et al. |
November 5, 2019 |
Information processing system
Abstract
An information processing system is provided which determines
whether a session in which an invited user has been invited to
participate is still valid or not before participation in the
session. The information processing system includes: storing status
information indicating whether each of a plurality of sessions
offering a service possibly participated in by the user is valid or
not; and storing a plurality of items of invitation information
about a plurality of invitations each being an invitation for the
invited user to participate in one of the sessions. Each client
device acquires one of the plurality of items of invitation
information about the invitation for the user using the client
device to become the invited user, and displays on a display screen
the acquired item of invitation information in a manner reflecting
the status information.
Inventors: |
Hewu; Haijie (Tokyo,
JP), Nakamura; Yuji (Tokyo, JP), Urakawa;
Soushi (Tokyo, JP), Koyama; Nobukazu (Tokyo,
JP) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SONY CORPORATION
SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC. |
Tokyo
Tokyo |
N/A
N/A |
JP
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
SONY CORPORATION (Tokyo,
JP)
SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT INC. (Tokyo,
JP)
|
Family
ID: |
52008214 |
Appl.
No.: |
14/896,340 |
Filed: |
June 4, 2014 |
PCT
Filed: |
June 04, 2014 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/JP2014/064887 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
December 04, 2015 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2014/196581 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
December 11, 2014 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20160121221 A1 |
May 5, 2016 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Jun 7, 2013 [JP] |
|
|
2013-121284 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F
13/48 (20140902); A63F 13/87 (20140902); A63F
13/352 (20140902); A63F 13/79 (20140902); A63F
13/795 (20140902) |
Current International
Class: |
A63F
13/795 (20140101); A63F 13/79 (20140101); A63F
13/87 (20140101); A63F 13/48 (20140101); A63F
13/352 (20140101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2530932 |
|
Dec 2012 |
|
EP |
|
2002-158659 |
|
May 2002 |
|
JP |
|
2003-030360 |
|
Jan 2003 |
|
JP |
|
2004-199134 |
|
Jul 2004 |
|
JP |
|
2009-523541 |
|
Jun 2009 |
|
JP |
|
2010-224842 |
|
Oct 2010 |
|
JP |
|
2013-078157 |
|
Apr 2013 |
|
JP |
|
2010/044309 |
|
Apr 2010 |
|
WO |
|
2012/077409 |
|
Jun 2012 |
|
WO |
|
Other References
English Translation of Written Opinion of the International
Searching Authority for PCT/JP2014/064887 accompanied with
PCT/IB/373 and PCT/IB/338 dated Dec. 17, 2015, acting as concise
explanation of previously submitted reference(s). cited by
applicant .
The Office Action dated Mar. 14, 2017 for a corresponding JP Patent
Application No. 2013-121284 and a partial translation of the Office
Action. cited by applicant .
English Translation of International Search Report for
PCT/JP2014/064887 dated Sep. 9, 2014. cited by applicant .
Office Action dated Jun. 6, 2017, for corresponding CN Patent
Application No. 201480031319.9 and English translation thereof.
cited by applicant .
Office Action dated Dec. 8, 2017, for corresponding CA Patent
Application No. 2,914,325 discussing previously cited US patent
documents. cited by applicant .
Office Action dated Apr. 9, 2018, for corresponding CN Patent
Application No. 201480031319.9 and English translation thereof
discussing previously cited US patent documents. cited by applicant
.
Office Action dated Oct. 9, 2018, for corresponding CA Patent
Application No. 2,914,325. cited by applicant .
Office Action dated Aug. 17, 2016 for corresponding AU application
No. 2014275882 discussing previously cited JP patent documents.
cited by applicant .
Office Action dated Sep. 19, 2019, for corresponding CA Patent
Application No. 2,914,325. cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Hylinski; Steven J
Attorney, Agent or Firm: HEA Law PLLC
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. An information processing system including a plurality of client
devices and managing information about a plurality of sessions each
offering a service possibly participated in by a user, the
information processing system comprising: a session managing
section configured to store status information indicating whether
each of the plurality of sessions is valid or not; an invitation
managing section configured to store a plurality of items of
invitation information, each of the items of invitation information
being about an invitation for an invited user to participate in one
of the plurality of sessions, and a plurality of service offering
sections configured to offer the services of which the types differ
from one another, each of the service offering sections generates
each of the plurality of sessions and offer the service to the user
participating in any one of the generated sessions; wherein each of
the plurality of client devices includes an invitation information
acquiring section configured to acquire one of the plurality of
items of invitation information stored in the invitation managing
section, the acquired item of invitation information being about
the invitation for the user using the client device to become the
invited user; and an invitation display controlling section
configured to display on a display screen the item of invitation
information acquired by the invitation information acquiring
section in a manner reflecting the status information, wherein at
the time the service offering section generates a new session, the
session managing section stores the status information indicating
that the newly generated session is valid, the session managing
section further updating the status information to a value
indicating that the session is invalid at the time the service
offering section ends the session, the session managing section
stores information about the session generated by each of the
plurality of service offering sections, the client device executes
a plurality of application programs each corresponding to one of
the plurality of service offering sections, and given a request
from an executing one of the plurality of application programs, the
invitation information acquiring section selectively acquires the
invitation information about the invitation to the session
generated by the service offering section corresponding to the
executing application program.
2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein
the invitation display controlling section displays each of the
plurality of items of invitation information acquired by the
invitation information acquiring section in a manner indicative of
whether the session targeted by the item of invitation information
is valid or not.
3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein
the invitation display controlling section displays a list of the
plurality of items of invitation information acquired by the
invitation information acquiring section in an order determined by
the status information.
4. A client device connected to a session managing section
configured to store status information indicating whether each of a
plurality of sessions offering a service possibly participated in
by a user is valid or not; an invitation managing section
configured to store a plurality of items of invitation information,
each of the items of invitation information being about an
invitation for an invited user to participate in one of the
plurality of sessions; and a plurality of service offering sections
configured to offer the services of which the types differ from one
another, each of the service offering sections generates each of
the plurality of sessions and offer the service to the user
participating in any one of the generated sessions; the client
device comprising: an invitation information acquiring section
configured to acquire one of the plurality of items of invitation
information stored in the invitation managing section, the acquired
item of invitation information being about the invitation for the
user using the client device to become the invited user; and an
invitation display controlling section configured to display on a
display screen the item of invitation information acquired by the
invitation information acquiring section in a manner reflecting the
status information, wherein at the time the service offering
section generates a new session, the session managing section
stores the status information indicating that the newly generated
session is valid, the session managing section further updating the
status information to a value indicating that the session is
invalid at the time the service offering section ends the session,
the session managing section stores information about the session
generated by each of the plurality of service offering sections,
the client device executes a plurality of application programs each
corresponding to one of the plurality of service offering sections,
and given a request from an executing one of the plurality of
application programs, the invitation information acquiring section
selectively acquires the invitation information about the
invitation to the session generated by the service offering section
corresponding to the executing application program.
5. The client device according to claim 4, wherein the invitation
display controlling section displays on the display screen the item
of invitation information acquired by the invitation information
acquiring section in a manner reflecting the status information
while an application program to be executed upon participation in
the session is not being executed.
6. The client device according to claim 4, wherein, upon
participation in one of the plurality of sessions, the client
device is connected to a service offering section and is offered a
service therefrom, the serving offering section offering the
service to the user participating in the session, and the
invitation display controlling section displays on the display
screen the item of invitation information acquired by the
invitation information acquiring section in a manner reflecting the
status information while the client device is not being connected
to the service offering section.
7. The client device according to claim 4, wherein the invitation
display controlling section displays on the display screen the item
of invitation information acquired by the invitation information
acquiring section, together with information indicative of an
elapsed time since the start of the session targeted for invitation
by the acquired item of invitation information.
8. A control method for a client device connected to a session
managing section configured to store status information indicating
whether each of a plurality of sessions offering a service possibly
participated in by a user is valid or not; an invitation managing
section configured to store a plurality of items of invitation
information, each of the items of invitation information being
about an invitation for an invited user to participate in one of
the plurality of sessions; and a plurality of service offering
sections configured to offer the services of which the types differ
from one another, each of the service offering sections generates
each of the plurality of sessions and offer the service to the user
participating in any one of the generated sessions; the control
method comprising: acquiring one of the plurality of items of
invitation information stored in the invitation managing section,
the acquired item of invitation information being about the
invitation for the user using the client device to become the
invited user; and displaying on a display screen the acquired item
of invitation information in a manner reflecting the status
information, wherein at the time the service offering section
generates a new session, the session managing section stores the
status information indicating that the newly generated session is
valid, the session managing section further updating the status
information to a value indicating that the session is invalid at
the time the service offering section ends the session, the session
managing section stores information about the session generated by
each of the plurality of service offering sections, the client
device executes a plurality of application programs each
corresponding to one of the plurality of service offering sections,
and given a request from an executing one of the plurality of
application programs, the client device selectively acquires the
invitation information about the invitation to the session
generated by the service offering section corresponding to the
executing application program.
9. A non-transitory computer-readable information storage medium
storing instructions for controlling a client device connected to a
session managing section configured to store status information
indicating whether each of a plurality of sessions offering a
service possibly participated in by a user is valid or not, an
invitation managing section configured to store a plurality of
items of invitation information, each of the items of invitation
information being about an invitation for an invited user to
participate in one of the plurality of sessions, and a plurality of
service offering sections configured to offer the services of which
the types differ from one another, each of the service offering
sections generates each of the plurality of sessions and offer the
service to the user participating in any one of the generated
sessions, to execute the processing of: acquiring one of the stored
plurality of items of invitation information, the acquired item of
invitation information being about the invitation for the user
using the client device to become the invited user; and displaying,
on a display screen, the acquired item of invitation information in
a manner reflecting the status information, wherein at the time the
service offering section generates a new session, the session
managing section stores the status information indicating that the
newly generated session is valid, the session managing section
further updating the status information to a value indicating that
the session is invalid at the time the service offering section
ends the session, the session managing section stores information
about the session generated by each of the plurality of service
offering sections, the client device executes a plurality of
application programs each corresponding to one of the plurality of
service offering sections, and given a request from an executing
one of the plurality of application programs, the client device
selectively acquires the invitation information about the
invitation to the session generated by the service offering section
corresponding to the executing application program.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a National Stage of International Application
No. PCT/JP2014/064887 filed on Jun. 4, 2014, which claims priority
to Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-121284 filed on Jun. 7,
2013. The contents of each of the above documents are incorporated
herein by reference in their entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an information processing system
for managing sessions each offering a service in which at least one
user can participate, a server system and a client device making up
such an information processing system, a control method for such a
client device, a program for controlling such a client device, and
an information storage medium storing such a program.
BACKGROUND ART
There are services that users can use and participate in via a
network, such as chat and multiplayer games. Such services offer a
plurality of sessions each possibly participated in by different
users like chat rooms. These sessions provide their services
independently of one another. Each user participates in one of a
plurality of sessions and uses the service provided by the
session.
A user participating in a session may want another user such as
his/her friend to take part in the same session. Service providers
may also wish to invite specific or indefinite users to participate
in a service they provide. Such a service may involve offering the
function of inviting users to the session by sending out a session
invitation message, for example.
SUMMARY
Technical Problem
The sessions above may not exist permanently; they are generated
anew as needed. A session may be controlled to end when the users
participating in it stop using the service provided by the session.
In this case, individual sessions are generated anew as requested
by users who wish to use the services provided by the sessions. The
session is ended when there are no participants or when the user
who requested generation of that session orders it to end, for
example. Thus when a user (invited user) has been invited to
participate in a session, the session, which was valid at the time
of invitation, may have ended by the time the invited user accepts
the invitation and tries to participate in the session. In this
case, the invited user has no way to know whether the session has
already ended or not until the user actually makes a request to
participate in the session he/she has been invited to. This is an
inconvenience for the invited user.
The present invention has been made in view of the above
circumstances. An object of the invention is to provide an
information processing system for allowing an invited user invited
to a session to know whether the session is still valid or not
before the invited user particulates in the session, a server
system and a client device making up such an information processing
system, a control method for such a client device, a program for
controlling such a client device, and an information storage medium
storing such a program.
Solution to Problem
According to the present invention, there is provided an
information processing system including a plurality of client
devices and managing information about a plurality of sessions each
offering a service possibly participated in by a user. The
information processing system includes: a session managing section
configured to store status information indicating whether each of
the plurality of sessions is valid or not; and an invitation
managing section configured to store a plurality of items of
invitation information, each of the items of invitation information
being about an invitation for an invited user to participate in one
of the plurality of sessions. Each of plurality of the client
devices includes: an invitation information acquiring section
configured to acquire one of the plurality of items of invitation
information stored in the invitation managing section, the acquired
item of invitation information being about the invitation for the
user using the client device to become the invited user; and an
invitation display controlling section configured to display on a
display screen the item of invitation information acquired by the
invitation information acquiring section in a manner reflecting the
status information.
According to the present invention, there is provided a server
system connected to a plurality of client devices and managing
information about a plurality of sessions each offering a service
possibly participated in by a user. The server system includes: a
session managing section configured to store status information
indicating whether each of the plurality of sessions is valid or
not; an invitation managing section configured to store a plurality
of items of invitation information, each of the items of invitation
information being about an invitation for an invited user to
participate in one of the plurality of sessions; an invitation
information offering section configured to offer, when requested by
one of the plurality of client devices, one of the plurality of
items of invitation information stored in the invitation managing
section, the offered item of invitation information being about the
invitation for the user using the requesting client device to
become the invited user; and a status information offering section
configured to offer to the requesting client device the status
information stored in the session managing section regarding the
session targeted for invitation by the offered item of invitation
information. The offered status information is used when the client
device displays the offered item of invitation information on a
display screen.
According to the present invention, there is provided a client
device connected to a session managing section configured to store
status information indicating whether each of a plurality of
sessions offering a service possibly participated in by a user is
valid or not; and an invitation managing section configured to
store a plurality of items of invitation information, each of the
items of invitation information being about an invitation for an
invited user to participate in one of the plurality of sessions.
The client device includes: an invitation information acquiring
section configured to acquire one of the plurality of items of
invitation information stored in the invitation managing section,
the acquired item of invitation information being about the
invitation for the user using the client device to become the
invited user; and an invitation display controlling section
configured to display on a display screen the item of invitation
information acquired by the invitation information acquiring
section in a manner reflecting the status information.
According to the present invention, there is provided a control
method for a client device connected to a session managing section
configured to store status information indicating whether each of a
plurality of sessions offering a service possibly participated in
by a user is valid or not; and an invitation managing section
configured to store a plurality of items of invitation information,
each of the items of invitation information being about an
invitation for an invited user to participate in one of the
plurality of sessions. The control method includes: a step of
acquiring one of the plurality of items of invitation information
stored in the invitation managing section, the acquired item of
invitation information being about the invitation for the user
using the client device to become the invited user; and a step of
displaying on a display screen the acquired item of invitation
information in a manner reflecting the status information.
According to the present invention, there is provided a program for
controlling a client device connected to a session managing section
configured to store status information indicating whether each of a
plurality of sessions offering a service possibly participated in
by a user is valid or not; and an invitation managing section
configured to store a plurality of items of invitation information,
each of the items of invitation information being about an
invitation for an invited user to participate in one of the
plurality of sessions. The program causes the client terminal to
execute: a step of acquiring one of the plurality of items of
invitation information stored in the invitation managing section,
the acquired item of invitation information being about the
invitation for the user using the client device to become the
invited user; and a step of displaying on a display screen the
acquired item of invitation information in a manner reflecting the
status information. Preferably, this program is stored on a
computer-readable information storage medium.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an information
processing system in one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a structural block diagram of a client device in one
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary flow of
processing performed when the information processing system in one
embodiment generates a session.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary flow of
processing performed when the invitation is extended from the
inviting user to the invited user.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary screen
displaying a list of invitations.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary detailed display
screen of invitation information.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
Some embodiments of the present invention are described below in
detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an information
processing system 1 in one embodiment of the present invention. As
shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 1 is structured
to include a plurality of client devices 2, a service offering
server 3, a session managing server 4, an invitation managing
server 5, a notification server 6, and a client managing server 7.
In this embodiment, the information processing system 1 is assumed
to be a game system that offers a multiplayer game-playing
environment to users. The service offering server 3 generates a
session offering a game service to participants. A session is a
unit in which the system offers its services. In the multiplayer
game service, a lobby or a room corresponds to a session, for
example. A plurality of users participating concurrently in the
same session play the same game by fighting against each other or
by cooperating with each other. However, users participating in
different sessions in the same type of game play different games
independently of one another. Although FIG. 1 shows only one
service offering server 3, there may be a plurality of service
offering servers 3 that may offer game services differing from one
another in type. Also, the service offering server 3 may be
provided by a game vendor different from the vendor that offers a
service infrastructure of the information processing system 1 by
setting up the session managing server 4, invitation managing
server 5, notification server 6, and client managing server 7.
The client device 2 is a terminal device used by the user who
participates in a session generated by the information processing
system 1 and who uses the service offered by the session. For
example, the client device 2 is a home video game console, a
handheld video game machine, a smartphone, a personal computer, or
some other information processing device. As shown in FIG. 2, each
client device 2 is structured to include a control section 11, a
storage section 12, and a communication section 13. Also, an
operation device 14 and a display device 15 are connected to each
client device 2.
The control section 11 is a central processing unit (CPU) or like
unit that performs diverse kinds of information processing in
accordance with programs stored in the storage section 12. The
storage section 12 is structured to include a memory device such as
a random access memory (RAM) that stores the programs executed by
the control section 11 as well as data targeted for processing by
the programs.
The communication section 13 is a communication interface such as a
local area network (LAN) card. Through the communication section
13, the client device 2 performs data communication with each of
the service offering server 3, session managing server 4,
invitation managing server 5, and notification server 6.
The operation device 14 is a game console controller, a keyboard,
or a mouse, for example. The operation device 14 receives the input
of operations made by the user and outputs the content of the
received input to the client device 2. The display device 15 is a
liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescent (EL)
display, for example. The display device 15 displays on a display
screen the image corresponding to a video signal output from the
client device 2. Incidentally, the operation device 14 and the
display device 15 may each be provided independently of the housing
of the client device 2, or may be incorporated integrally in the
housing of the client device 2.
The storage section 12 of the client device 2 stores system
software (basic software) 21 and game programs 22. These programs
are executed by the control section 11. The system software 21 is a
program that offers basic functions needed in using this system
regardless of the game type. The game programs 22 are application
programs to be executed by the client device 2 in using the
services offered by the service offering server 3. Each of the game
programs 22 is prepared for each game type. The user needs to
obtain beforehand the game program 22 corresponding to the session
in which the user plans to participate and, while participating in
the session, needs to have the game program 22 executed by the
client device 2. These programs may be stored on a
computer-readable information storage medium such as an optical
disk or downloaded via communication lines such as the Internet
when offered to the client device 2.
The service offering server 3 generates a new session in accordance
with session start request from one of the client devices 2 and
performs game processing on the generated session. The service
offering server 3 may generate a plurality of sessions that carry
out processes independently of one another regarding games. Each
session receives a participation request from the user of the
client device 2. The session transmits the result of the executing
game process to each client device 2 used by the user participating
in the session, thus offering the game service to the participating
user. This allows a plurality of users participating in the same
session to play a multiplayer game together by fighting against
each other or by cooperating with each other.
The session managing server 4 manages information about the
sessions generated by the service offering server 3. The
information held in and specific processes performed by the session
managing server 4 will be discussed later.
The invitation managing server 5 manages invitations extended
between users. In this embodiment, any user participating in a
session may invite another user to participate in the same session.
The information about the invitations is managed by the invitation
managing server 5 and is referenced by the client device 2. The
information held in and specific processes performed by the
invitation managing server 5 will be discussed later.
The notification server 6 maintains network connections with the
client devices 2 currently using the services offered by this
system and, in response to requests from other servers, gives
various notifications such as invitation messages to the client
devices 2. Specifically, when a user starts up his/her client
device 2 and logs in to a service of this system, a network
connection is established between the client device 2 and the
notification server 6. While the client device 2 is using the
service, the notification server 6 maintains the network connection
with the client device 2. When the user is to be notified of an
invitation message, for example, the notification server 6 uses the
maintained network connection to give a push notification to the
client device 2. In this manner, the user may be notified of
diverse information in real time.
The client managing server 7 manages online status of each client
device 2. Specifically, when the notification server 6 establishes
a network connection with a client device 2, the notification
server 6 notifies the client managing server 7 that the client
device 2 is currently online. Given the notification, the client
managing server 7 adds information about the newly connected client
device 2 to a list of currently online client devices 2 (online
client list). When the user of the client device 2 stops using the
service and logs out, the network connection between the
notification server 6 and the client device 2 is disconnected. The
notification server 6 then notifies the client managing server 7
that the client device 2 is currently offline. Upon receipt of the
notification, the client managing server 7 deletes the information
about the offline client device 2 from the online client list. If
the communication connection with a client device 2 that has been
online so far is disconnected due to some error and is not
reestablished within a predetermined time period, the notification
server 6 determines that the client device 2 is currently offline
and notifies the client managing server 7 to that effect. This
allows the client managing server 7 to manage in real time which
client devices 2 are currently online. In addition to the online
status of the client devices 2, the client managing server 7 may
manage other information acquired from each client device 2 such as
the type of the game program 22 currently executed by that client
device 2.
Explained below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 is a
specific flow of processing performed by the information processing
system 1 of this embodiment when a session is generated.
A client device 2 used by a user executes a game program 22 to
transmit a session generation request to the service offering
server 3 that offers the game corresponding to the executing game
program 22 (step S1). In the ensuing description, the user making
the session generation request will be referred to as the host
user, and the client device 2 used by the host user to transmit the
session generation request will be referred to as the host device.
On receiving the session generation request from the host device,
the service offering server 3 generates a new session and gives it
identification information so as to identify the newly generated
session within the service offering server 3 (step S2). For
distinction from a session identification (ID) (to be discussed
later) given to a session by the session managing server 4, the
session identification information given to each session generated
by the service offering server 3 will be referred to as the service
ID in the description that follows. Upon giving the service ID to
the session, the service offering server 3 notifies the client
device 2 of that service ID (step S3).
Given the notification in step S3, the host device transmits to the
session managing server 4 a registration request to register
information about the session generated in step S2 (step S4). The
registration request includes information identifying the service
offering server 3 that has generated the session, and the service
ID given to the session by the service offering server 3. Upon
receiving the registration request, the session managing server 4
issues a session ID to the session targeted for registration by the
registration request and notifies the host device of the issued
session ID (step S5). Unlike the service ID given by the service
offering server 3 in step S2, the session ID is a value that
uniquely identifies the session in the entire system. When notified
of the session ID, the host device notifies the session managing
server 4 of diverse items of information regarding the session to
be registered in the session managing server 4 (step S6). On
receiving the information in step S6, the session managing server 4
registers the received information in a database the session
managing server 4 manages (step S7).
What follows is a description of the information about the session
registered in step S7 and managed by the session managing server 4.
With regard to each session generated by the service offering
server 3, the session managing server 4 stores as session-related
information such related items of information as a session ID,
session reference destination information, a session name, a
session image, accessory information, device type information, a
public flag, a game title name, a participant list, a host user ID,
a session generation time, and a validity flag. The session ID is
information that identifies each session within the session
managing server 4. As described above, the session ID is issued by
the session managing server 4 when the information about a new
session is registered in the session managing server 4. The session
reference destination information is information that identifies
the source offering the service with regard to the session. For
example, the session reference destination information may include
address information of the service offering server 3 and a service
ID. In this case, the host device notifies the session managing
server 4 of the address information and the service ID in step S4
as described above.
The session name is the name of this session. The session image and
the accessory information make up information regarding the content
and status of the game played in the session. The session image may
be image data representative of a play screen of the session, for
example. The accessory information such as a stage name is used to
inform the user of the content and status of the session.
The device type information is information indicative of the device
type of the client device 2 allowed to participate in the session.
Different types of games can be played selectively on different
types of participating client devices 2. For example, some games
can be played only on a particular home video game console; others
may be played on any of the home video game console, handheld video
game machine, and personal computer. The device type information
stipulates the type of the client device 2 allowed to participate
in the session. The public flag is flag information indicating
whether or not the information regarding this session has been made
public to indefinite users. Anyone can reference the content of the
session for which the public flag is set to on; any user may
request to participate in that session. In contrast, only invited
users are allowed to reference the information about the session
for which the public flag is set to off and to participate in the
session. The content of the session name, session image, accessory
information, device type information, and public flag is determined
by the game program 22 of the host device or by the service
offering server 3, before being transmitted to the session managing
server 4 by the system software 21 in step S6. Alternatively, the
content of the session image and accessory information may be
updated in a suitably timed manner in accordance with the situation
change of the session to reflect the information offered by the
service offering server 3 to the session managing server 4.
The game title name is information that identifies the type of the
game (i.e., game title) offered by the session. When notifying the
session managing server 4 of the session information, the system
software 21 of the host device acquires the name of the currently
executing game program 22 as the information representing the game
title name.
The participant list is a list of users participating in the
session. If the client device 2 used by a user other than the host
user participates anew in the currently executing session, the
client device 2 notifies the session managing server 4 to that
effect. Given the notification, the session managing server 4 adds
the user ID of the newly participating user to the participant
list. When a user has stopped participating in the session, the
client device 2 used by that user notifies the session managing
server 4 of the end of the participation. Upon receipt of the
notification, the session managing server 4 deletes from the
participant list the user ID of the user who has stopped
participating. When any client device 2 goes offline, the client
managing server 7 notifies the session managing server 4 to that
effect. Given the notification, the session managing server 4
searches for the session participated in by the user of the
applicable client device 2 and deletes the user ID of that user
from the participant list of the session. This enables the
information about the offline user to be deleted from the
participant list even if his/her client device 2 fails to normally
complete the process of ending the participation in the
session.
The host user ID is information that identifies the host user who
has requested the generation of the session. The session generation
time is information indicative of the time at which the session was
generated. When the session managing server 4 registers the
information about a new session, date and time information at that
point in time is recorded as the session generation time.
The validity flag is flag information indicating whether the
session is valid or invalid. When the session managing server 4
registers the information about a new session, the value indicating
the validity of the session is set to validity flag. At the end of
the session, the client device 2 that initiated the end of the
session notifies the session managing server 4 of the session end.
Given the notification, the session managing server 4 sets to
invalid the validity flag of the session targeted by the
notification. For example, the condition for ending the session is
met by the host user having stopped participating in the session.
In that case, the host device notifies the session managing server
4 of the end of the session. Alternatively, the service offering
server 3 may end the session when there is no participant in the
session. In this case, the client device 2 used by the user who has
most recently stopped participating in the session notifies the
session managing server 4 of the session end. Whereas the client
device 2 notifies the session managing server 4 of the start and
the end of the session in this example, this is not limitative of
the embodiment. Alternatively, the service offering server 3 may
notify the session managing server 4 of the start and the end of
the session. As another alternative, part or all of the information
offered to the session managing server 4 by the client device 2 may
be offered to the session managing server 4 not by the client
device 2 but by the service offering server 3.
As explained above, the session managing server 4 manages the
information about sessions independently of the service offering
server 3 that actually generates the sessions and performs
processing on the generated sessions. In particular, the
information about each session includes the validity flag that is
updated in real time whenever a session is actually started or
ended. Each client device 2 can thus determine whether a specific
session is valid or invalid by referencing the validity flag held
by the session managing server 4 without gaining access to the
service offering server 3, as will be discussed later. The service
offering server 3 is prepared for each game type. Each service
offering server 3 is assumed to be accessed by the corresponding
game program 22. To access the service offering server 3, the
client device 2 needs to execute the corresponding game program 22.
However, this embodiment allows the running system software 21 to
acquire the information about the session from the session managing
server 4 without executing the game program 22.
Specifically, the system software 21 of each client device 2
acquires a list of currently valid sessions by querying the session
managing server 4. The user of each client device 2 can select the
session that the user plans to participate in from the list without
starting the game program 22. At this point, the session managing
server 4 may reference the validity flag and thereby offer only the
information about the valid session to the client device 2. As
described above, the information about the sessions for which the
public flag is set to off and to which the querying user is not
invited is excluded from the list of sessions offered to the client
device 2. The information about the sessions to which the querying
user is invited and the information about the sessions to which the
querying user is not invited are acquired by querying the
invitation managing server 5, to be discussed later.
By executing the game program 22, each client device 2 may let the
game program 22 request a list of sessions from the session
managing server 4. In this case, the client device 2 requests
acquisition of the list including the name of the game program 22
(i.e., game title name) of the user who made the query. Given the
request, the session managing server 4 transmits to the client
device 2 only the information about the sessions for which the
querying user matches the game title name. This allows the game
program 22 to acquire only the information about the sessions that
can be participated in. Alternatively, the client device 2 may
request acquisition of the list that includes the game ID
identifying the type of the game program 22 instead of the game
title name. In this case, the session managing server 4 stores in
relation to each session the game ID identifying the game type
corresponding to the session, in place of or in addition to the
game title name. Upon receiving the list acquisition request, the
session managing server 4 transmits selectively to the client
device 2 the game ID included in the acquisition request and the
information about the session related to the matching game ID.
Explained below with reference to the flow diagram of FIG. 4 is an
exemplary flow of processing performed by the information
processing system 1 in this embodiment when a user participating in
a session invites another user to participate in the same session
(i.e., the invitation is extended from the inviting user to the
invited user). In the ensuing description, the client device 2 used
by the inviting user will be referred to as the client device 2a,
and the client device 2 used by the invited user will be referred
to as the client device 2b.
The client device 2a executes the game program 22 to connect with
the service offering server 3 offering the game service
corresponding to the game program 22, thereby participating in the
session (step S11). At this point, the client device 2a notifies
the session managing server 4 of the participation by the inviting
user in the session along with the session ID identifying the
session participated in (step S12). Given the notification, the
session managing server 4 adds the user ID of the inviting user to
the list of the participants in the session identified by the
session ID. Thereafter, under instructions from the inviting user,
the client device 2a transmits to the invitation managing server 5
an invitation request including the session ID transmitted in step
S12 as well as the user ID of the invited user (step S13).
On receiving the invitation request, the invitation managing server
5 adds information about the invitation to the database the
invitation managing server 5 itself manages (step S14), and
requests the notification server 6 to send out an invitation
notification (step S15). In response to the request in step S15,
the notification server 6 notifies the client device 2b used by the
invited user of the invitation (step S16).
Given the notification in step S16, the client device 2b causes the
display device 15 to indicate on its screen that an invitation is
extended (step S17). When the user of the client device 2b gives an
instruction to participate in the session to which the user has
been invited, the client device 2b makes a session participation
request to the service offering server 3 as when the inviting user
participated in the session (step S18). When the request to
participate in the session is received by the service offering
server 3, the client device 2b notifies the session managing server
4 to that effect (step S19). This causes the user ID of the invited
user to be added to the list of the participants in the
session.
Explained below is the information about the invitation registered
in the process of step S14 by the invitation managing server 5 for
management purposes. With regard to each invitation accepted, the
invitation managing server 5 stores as invitation-related
information such related items of information as an invitation ID,
an inviting user ID, an invited user ID, a session ID, an
invitation message, an invitation time, a session validity flag, a
read flag, and a participation flag.
The invitation ID is information that uniquely identifies each
invitation and is given by the invitation managing server 5. The
inviting user ID and the invited user ID are information
identifying the inviting user and the invited user, respectively.
The session ID is information that identifies the session targeted
by the invitation. The invitation message is text information
indicating the content of the message input by the inviting user
and addressed to the invited user. The invitation managing server 5
is notified of the inviting user ID, invited user ID, session ID,
and invitation message by the client device 2a used by the inviting
user. The invitation time is information indicative of the time at
which the invitation was extended. The date and time information in
effect when the invitation managing server 5 receives an invitation
request from the client device 2 is recorded as the invitation
time.
The session validity flag is flag information indicating whether
the session targeted by the invitation is valid or not. This
information is similar to the validity flag managed within the
session managing server 4. It should be noted that whereas the
validity flag in the session managing server 4 is updated in real
time to the value indicating that the session is invalid when
ended, the session validity flag in the invitation managing server
5 is not updated in real time. Upon transmitting invitation
information in response to the request from the client device 2,
the invitation managing server 5 references the session validity
flag regarding the invitation. If the session validity flag is
found set to invalid, the invitation managing server 5 transmits to
the client device 2 the information about the invitation together
with information indicating that the session is already invalid. If
the session validity flag is found set to valid, the invitation
managing server 5 queries the session managing server 4 about the
most recent status of the session before transmitting the
information about the invitation to the client device 2. The
invitation managing server 5 updates the session validity flag to
reflect the result of the query, before transmitting the
information about the invitation to the client device 2. With this
embodiment, the session will never be valid again once made
invalid. As mentioned above, the invitation managing server 5 holds
the session validity flag independently of the session managing
server 4. When the session is already invalid, the invitation
managing server 5 can offer the client device 2 the information
about the invitation together with information indicating that the
session is invalid, without querying the session managing server 4
a number of times. It is not mandatory for the invitation managing
server 5 to hold the session validity flag. In this case, the
invitation managing server 5 may query the session managing server
4 about the most recent status of the session every time the
invitation managing server 5 is about to offer invitation
information to the client device 2. The invitation managing server
5 then offers the invitation information together with the result
of the query to the client device 2. As another alternative, the
client device 2, given the invitation information, may directly
query the session managing server 4 and acquire the flag
information indicative of the status of the session targeted by the
acquired invitation.
The read flag is flag information indicating whether the content of
the invitation has been viewed by the invited user or not. The
participation flag is another flag information indicating whether
the invited user has participated in the session targeted by the
invitation. The client device 2b used by the invited user notifies
the invitation managing server 5 when the invited user has viewed
the content of the invitation or when the invited user has
participated in the session to which that user has been invited.
Given these notifications, the invitation managing server 5 updates
the read flag and the participation flag accordingly.
Explained below is the invitation-related information displayed on
the screen of the display device 15 by the client device 2b of the
invited user.
When the user of the client device 2b gives an instruction to
display invitation information, the client device 2b transmits to
the invitation managing server 5 a request to acquire the
invitation information together with the user ID of the user who
has given the instruction. The invitation information acquisition
request may be made either by the system software 21 or by the game
program 22. In response to the acquisition request, the invitation
managing server 5 transmits to the client device 2b the information
about the invitations in which the requesting user is the invited
user. At this point, as discussed above, the invitation managing
server 5 queries the session managing server 4 as needed to update
the session validity flag to the most recent information. The
invitation managing server 5 then transmits the invitation
information together with the information about the updated session
validity flag. The client device 2b displays the invitation
information received from the invitation managing server 5 in list
form on the screen of the display device 5. When the game program
22 makes the invitation information acquisition request, only the
information about the invitations regarding the session
corresponding to the game program 22 is offered to the client
device 2.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary screen
displaying a list of invitation information. In FIG. 5, each item
of invitation information includes the game title name of the
session targeted by the invitation, a session image, the name of
the inviting user, and the device type of the client device 2 that
can participate in the session. These items of invitation
information are acquired from the session managing server 4.
In this embodiment, the client device 2b displays a list of
invitations in a manner reflecting the content of the session
validity flag. The client device 2b may also display the
information about invitations in a manner reflecting the content of
the read flag and the participation flag. For example, the client
device 2b may display individual invitations in a manner determined
by each of the values of the session validity flag and the read
flag. In FIG. 5, a mark "New" is attached to each invitation for
which the read flag is set to "unread" (i.e., the invitation has
yet to be viewed by the invited user). The invitation for which the
session validity flag is set to "invalid" (i.e., the session
targeted by the invitation has already ended) may be displayed in a
manner not attracting much attention of the user, such as a
low-tone image obtained by suitable image processing. In FIG. 5,
the invitations enclosed by not a solid-line rectangle but a
broken-line rectangle each are shown as the invitations of which
the sessions have already ended. As another alternative, the client
device 2b may display each invitation in a manner reflecting the
participation flag.
The client device 2b may further determine the order in which a
plurality of invitations are to be displayed in list form in
accordance with the content of the session validity flag, read
flag, and participation flag. In FIG. 5, for example, the
invitations targeted for display are sorted by the value of the
session validity flag. This permits display of the invitations to
the sessions that are still valid and can be participated in by the
user, more preferentially than (i.e., higher than) the invitations
to the sessions that have already ended and cannot be participated
in. The invitations are also sorted by the value of the read flag.
When their session validity flags are set to the same value, the
unread invitations are displayed higher than the read invitations.
The invitations may further be sorted by the content of the
participation flag. For example, when their session validity flags
and their read flags are set to the same values, the invitations
yet to be participated in may be displayed higher than the
invitations already participated in. However, because viewing of an
invitation needs to precede the participation in that invited
session, there usually is no invitation that is unread and has been
participated in. Thus in determining the order in which to display
invitations in accordance with all of the session validity flag,
read flag, and participation flag, the invitations may be displayed
in list form in the following order for example:
1. Invitations of which the sessions are valid, which have yet to
be read, and of which the sessions have yet to be participated
in.
2. Invitations of which the sessions are valid, which have been
read, and of which the sessions have yet to be participated in.
3. Invitations of which the sessions are valid, which have been
read, and of which the sessions have been participated in.
4. Invitations of which the sessions are invalid, which have yet to
be read, and of which the sessions have yet to be participated
in.
5. Invitations of which the sessions are invalid, which have been
read, and of which the sessions have yet to be participated in.
6. Invitations of which the sessions are invalid, which have been
read, and of which the sessions have been participated in.
In this manner, the invitations of which the sessions are valid are
displayed higher and more prominently than the invitations of which
the sessions are invalid. This display helps direct the user's
attention to the invitations that can still be participated in.
The client device 2b may be arranged not to display, in the
invitation list on the screen, the invitations for which the
above-mentioned flags meet specific conditions. For example, there
is little need for the user who has viewed the content of the
invitations of which the sessions have become invalid to again
verify the content. The invitations of which the sessions are
invalid and which have already been read may thus be excluded from
the invitation list targeted for display. If the user is not
expected to again participate in the session already participated
in, all invitations for which the participation flags are set to
"participated in" may be excluded from the invitations targeted for
display.
In this embodiment, one user may use a plurality of client devices
2. In such a case, it is the invitation managing server 5 that
holds the read flags and the participation flags, not the client
devices 2 in the information processing system 1. This enables the
information processing system 1 to manage which user has viewed
which invitations and which user has participated in which sessions
on invitation, regardless of which of the client devices 2 has been
used.
When the user selects one of the invitations listed on the screen
as shown in FIG. 5, a detailed display screen appears, displaying
the details of the selected invitation. FIG. 6 is a schematic
diagram showing an exemplary detailed display screen of such
invitation information. On this detailed display screen, the
information about the content of the invitation (i.e., the user
name of the inviting user and the invitation message input by the
inviting user) is displayed in the top right corner of the screen.
Shown on the left and in the right bottom corner of the screen is
detailed information about the session targeted by the invitation
(e.g., game title name, session image, elapsed time since the start
of the session, accessory information, number of participants in
the session, and user name). The detailed information about the
session is acquired from the session managing server 4. The elapsed
time since the start of the session, it should be noted, is
calculated from the current time information and from the session
generation time information acquired from the session managing
server 4. The client device 2b may request acquisition of the
detailed information about the session directly from the session
managing server 4. Alternatively, when the client device 2b is to
acquire the invitation information from the invitation managing
server 5, the invitation managing server 5 may acquire the detailed
information about the session from the session managing server 4
and offer the acquired information along with the information
managed by the invitation managing server 5 to the client device
2b. The timing for the client device 2b to acquire the detailed
information about the session is not limited to when the invitation
information is acquired from the invitation managing server 5 to
display a list of invitations. Alternatively, the timing may be
when the detailed information about each invitation is displayed.
In this case, the most recent session status can be displayed on
the detailed display screen as the session images and accessory
information held by the session managing server 4 are updated over
time.
The detailed display screen for the invitation also includes a
"PARTICIPATE" button to be operated for participating in the
session. When the invited user selectively operates the PARTICIPATE
button, the client device 2b starts the game program 22
corresponding to the session to make a session participation
request to the service offering server 3. If the invited user
having operated the PARTICIPATE button to participate in the
session does not have the game program 22 corresponding to the
session, the client device 2b may access an online program selling
site and display the purchase screen of the game program 22 to
prompt the user to purchase the game program 22.
In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, each
invitation is related to the information identifying the session
targeted by the invitation. On displaying the information about an
invitation, the client device 2b acquires in real time the status
information (validity flag) indicating whether the related session
is valid or not, and displays the information about the session in
a manner reflecting the content. This allows the invited user,
before accessing the service offering server 3 and attempting to
participate in the session, to know whether the session can be
participated in or not.
In this embodiment, in particular, the validity flag indicating the
status of each session is stored in the session managing server 4
separate from the service offering server 3. When the service
offering server 3 generates a session anew, the information about
the new session is registered in the session managing server 4.
When the service offering server 3 ends the session, the session
managing server 4 is notified to that effect. The notification
causes the session managing server 4 to update the validity flag
stored therein regarding the session, to the value indicative of
invalidity. By referencing the validity flag stored in the session
managing server 4, the client device 2b can thus acquire the most
recent status of the session without accessing the service offering
server 3. In this embodiment, the client device 2 needs to start
the corresponding game program 22 in order to access the service
offering server 3. However, because the session managing server 4
apart from the service offering server 3 manages in real time the
status of each session generated by the service offering server 3,
the client device 2 can know whether the session to which the
client device 2 has been invited can be participated in or not
without starting the game program 22.
The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the one
discussed above. For example, whereas it was explained above that
the service offering server 3 offers the multiplayer game service,
this is not limitative of what the service offering server 3 has to
offer. For example, the service offering server 3 may generate
sessions for offering a chat, a voice chat, or other diverse
services in which a plurality of users may concurrently participate
online. In such cases, upon participating in a session that offers
a chat service for example, the client device 2 may be required to
execute the application program corresponding to that service.
It was also explained above that the inviting user while
participating in a session transmits an invitation for the invited
user to participate in the same session. In another example, the
sender of the invitation is not limited to any of the users; a
service provider may also send out invitations. In this example,
the service offering server 3 may transmit invitation messages
urging the users who meet predetermined conditions or randomly
selected users to participate in the sessions managed by the
service offering server 3. In this case, upon having a list of
invitations displayed, the invited user references the validity
flags stored in the session managing server 4. This enables the
client device 2 of the invited user to display in list form the
sessions to which the invitations have been extended, in a manner
distinguishing the currently valid sessions from the ended sessions
among the sessions to which the invitations have been extended.
The services offered by the information processing system 1 in this
embodiment of the present invention are not limited to those
services in which the participation by a plurality of users is
mandatory. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to
any online service which is not predetermined to stop being offered
at any specific point in time at the start of the service and which
can be accessed and used by the user while the session offering the
service is being valid. For example, the present invention may be
applied to a campaign service or a time sale service at an
electronic commerce (EC) site. In this case, an inviting user or
the service provider notifies invited users of an invitation
message announcing the campaign service or the time sale service
being offered. When the invitation message is displayed, the client
device 2 of the invited user queries the session managing server 4
to acquire flag information indicating whether the service targeted
by the invitation is valid or not, before displaying the invitation
message in a manner reflecting the flag information.
It was explained above that the service offering server 3, the
session managing server 4, the invitation managing server 5, the
notification server 6, and the client managing server 7, all
independent of one another, offer the services of the information
processing system 1. However, the configuration of the server
system for offering the services of the information processing
system 1 is not limited to the above-described configuration. For
example, the function of the session managing server 4 and that of
the invitation managing server 5 may be integrally implemented by a
single server computer. It was also explained above that the client
device 2 acquires necessary information by individually accessing
the session managing server 4 and the invitation managing server 5.
Alternatively, a reception server may be provided to receive an
information acquisition request and an information update request
from the client device 2. The client device 2 may then perform data
communication with the reception server. In this case, the client
device 2 is connected to the session managing server 4 and the
invitation managing server 5 indirectly via the reception server.
In this example, a request made by the client device 2 to acquire
invitation information from the reception server causes the
reception server to acquire from the invitation managing server 5
the information about the invitations in which the user using the
client device 2 is the invited user. The reception server also
acquires from the session managing server 4 the information about
the sessions targeted by the acquired invitations. The reception
server then transmits to the client device 2 a replay that combines
the invitation information acquired from the invitation managing
server 5 with the session information acquired from the session
managing server 4. This enables the client device 2 to acquire the
necessary information without directly connecting with a plurality
of servers, alleviating the processing burdens on the client
side.
* * * * *